Chapter 6 - Tablo Connect and Port Forwarding

This guide will cover what port forwarding is and how it relates to your Tablo setup, as well as provide a general tutorial on how to get Tablo Connect, our out-of-home streaming service up and running.

Port forwarding is only relevant when you want to set up Tablo Connect for viewing live TV and recordings away from home. If this isn’t a Tablo feature you want to use, you can skip this guide. To get rid of the warning seen below, just disable the 'Tablo Connect' button found in the Settings screen.

Most routers will handle port forwarding for you automatically (using a routing protocol called UPnP), so you won’t need to go through your router’s settings to set things up manually. However, when the router doesn’t configure these rules by default, this is where port forwarding comes in.

If you head to your Tablo’s Settings > Tablo Connect and enable the feature by checking the box next to “Remote Access”, you will see one of two possible messages. If you see “Your Tablo is ready for remote access”, this means everything is all set up and ready to use. If you see a message telling you that “Your router requires manual configuration”, you’ll need to set up port forwarding.

NOTE: The numbers seen in the image below are EXAMPLES only. Your Tablo may configure different external port numbers.

What is Port Forwarding?

Before we move on to how to get your router properly configured, it helps to understand what port forwarding is, and why your Tablo relies on your router properly handling port forward requests to use Tablo Connect.

Port forwarding is what your router uses to direct incoming traffic to the proper location. When you open the Tablo app when you’re away from home, the app contacts your router which then connects the app to your Tablo.

If port forwarding isn’t working properly on your router, the communication from your Tablo app never reaches the Tablo, and your remote connection fails. Setting up port forwarding on your router ensures the message from your Tablo app makes it to its destination.

If you don’t know the IP address of your router (also referred to as a default gateway), you’ll need to find its IP address first so you can log into it to make changes. If you already know your router’s IP address, you can log in to your router and skip ahead to step two.

The following guide will walk you through how to find your router’s IP address as well as how to get logged into your router’s admin section:

Once logged in, locate the port forwarding settings within your router’s settings. This part will look different depending on which router you own, but the port forwarding settings are often in the “Advanced” or “Gaming” sections.

In a second browser tab, open the Tablo web app at http://my.tablotv.com and navigate to Settings > Tablo Connect.

It’s time to create the port forwarding rules. While the Tablo settings refer to “public” and “private” port numbers, different routers use different naming conventions which can be confusing. For example, instead of “public port”, your router may refer to it as a “source” or “external” port, while referring to the “private” port as either a “destination” or “internal” port.

The public ports refer to the ports on your router that your Tablo app will communicate with, while the private ports refer to the ports on the Tablo to which communication is being forwarded.

There are four pieces of information you will need to enter for each port forwarding rule: the public port, the private port, the destination IP address, and the protocol to use. Using the example information from Step Two, this is what your rules will look like:

Your router will ask you to name each of these rules as you set them up. The only purpose of the name is to keep track of the rules and their functions, so we recommend naming them "Tablo1" and "Tablo2" respectively. As another example, the information you enter in will look something like this:

Once both rules are created, save your settings. You have now configured your ports to forward to your Tablo properly.

Step Four:

The last step is to head back to your Tablo’s settings and scroll down to the Tablo Connect section. Disable Tablo Connect by deselecting the check box next to Remote Access, then enable it again by checking the box once more. You should get a message after a few seconds saying “Your Tablo is ready for remote access”.

You will want to make sure you sync your devices to the Tablo again now that Tablo Connect has been configured before you attempt to connect remotely. Once this has been done, you can take your device outside of your home and connect to the Tablo app as you normally would.

Having Problems?

If your ports have been configured correctly and you’re still receiving a message stating “Your router requires manual configuration”, there are a couple more steps you can take.

UPnP

First, locate the UPnP option in your router’s settings. Not all routers have this setting, so if you’re having trouble locating it, consult the documentation for your specific router. It should looks something like this:

UPnP (Universal Plug 'n' Play) is designed to handle port forward requests on demand. If this setting is enabled and functioning correctly, your router should route requests as it receives them.

Not all routers have this setting enabled by default, however, and some models require you to disable and re-enable it after a new device is added to the network. If this setting is disabled, enable it and save your settings. If this setting is already enabled, try disabling it, saving your settings, then re-enabling it and saving the settings once more.

Once this is done, head back to your Tablo Connect settings and uncheck/re-check the Remote Access box once again.

DHCP Reservation

If Tablo Connect suddenly stops working, your router may be assigning a new IP address to your Tablo which would cause the port forwarding rules to stop working. Assigning a DHCP reservation to the Tablo will prevent this from happening.

Double NAT Problems

In some cases, when using the modem/router provided by your ISP (internet service provider) as well as an additional third party router, a conflict can arise that can cause an issue with port forwarding. If you cannot get your ports to forward and the above describes your home setup, take a look at this guide which explains what a double NAT problem is, and how to resolve it:

In many cases, the firmware on a router will be old and out of date. Since firmware updates include performance enhancements and bug fixes, it's always a good idea to ensure you're always running the most current version.

If You Still Have Trouble

If your router is still not handling the port forward requests correctly, the best place to turn is your ISP. Since they have access to your router’s settings and can see exactly how things are configured, they should be able to get things configured for you on their end.

If the router you’re using is a third party router that was not provided by your ISP, the manufacturer of that router (Linksys, Asus, etc.) would be the best point of contact.